Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, April 22, 2013

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: WA State Teacher Named National Teacher of the Year

Seattle Schools Community Forum: WA State Teacher Named National Teacher of the Year:



Debarments

When a vendor for the District has overbilled the District they can be subject to debarment - the District will refuse to do business with them in future.

As a result of the scandal around the Small Works roster program and the state auditor's office investigation into the potential loss of public funds, a number of cases for debarment arose.

Here is a district memo summarizing the status of those debarred.

You will note that the debarment of the Urban League has expired.



Adoption Cycle

For those who believed that Seattle Public Schools was supposed to be on a seven-year cycle for the adoption of instructional materials, and that we are overdue for a review of the math materials, you are right.

Here is a memo to the Board from Shauna Heath on the status of the adoption cycle.

She intends to use the coming school year, 2013-2014, as a "curriculum mapping year" for K-12 math, then 


WA State Teacher Named National Teacher of the Year

I knew it.

Today Jeff Charbonneau was named as the national teacher of the year by the Council of Chief State School Officers.  According to their website:

A science teacher from Zillah High School who helped transform his small school into a place where nearly every student graduates with some college credit was named as national teacher of the year.

Zillah Principal Mike Torres said last week that Charbonneau, 35, has added a lot to the school located in Washington's Yakima Valley and has inspired other teachers to push themselves.

Torres also gives Charbonneau credit for helping push more kids in Zillah to continue learning after high school. Ninety percent of last year's graduating class went on to continue their learning, either at college, in an apprenticeship program or the military.

Those numbers have a lot to do with a program Charbonneau started to help students get college credit for the